I was in the spirit today, so I whipped this out really fast!! Hope you all enjoy!!
Casey and Sarah sped towards the Buy More; neither saying a word, their meeting with Beckman and graham still running threw their minds.
"How in gods name did he find Chuck so fast?" Casey hissed, tearing up the note in his hands. Sarah shook her head.
"He already knew who Chuck was from the Buy More. He just had to hack into the files in their computer, which probably wasn't too hard. Hampton could have pulled up Chuck's whole life story in about fifteen minutes."
"Which he had plenty of time to do after he escaped." Casey pinched the brim of his nose with his thumb and index finger. "Does Bartowski know about this?"
"No," Sarah answered "I didn't have the heart to say anything."'
"Which is probably a good thing," Beckman stated, grabbing the agents attention again. "though this calls for desperate measures. If Marcus Hampton indeed plans to kill Mr. Bartowski, then his life and the intersect's in jeopardy."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning Agent Walker that Mr. Bartowski's time is up. I'm ordering an immediate transfer to Washington-"
"No!! You can't do that!!"
"What do you intend for us to do. If Hampton gets a hold of him, then he and our secrets are in the bomber's mercy!! I will not take that chance."
"Neither will I," Graham agreed. "You and Agent Casey will pick him up and escort him to the pick up spot as soon as possible. We need to get to him before Hampton does. Do you understand?"
Casey nodded grimly, but Sarah still protested. " But if we can catch Hampton before then-"
"Enough Miss Walker." Graham butted in. "No matter what you say, it will not change our decision. We will call you with further instruction soon." And the signed off.
Sarah, furious, ran her fist into the wall, leaving a large hole as she stormed out of the apartment.
"Hey! I'm going to have to pay for that!" Casey yelled, running after her.
Casey looked sideways at the young agent, her brows still knitted together.
"You knew this would happen." Casey said, trying to calm her down.
"Not like this. No one has figured out his identity! It's not fair Casey!" She turned her gazed to the window. "He doesn't deserve this."
Casey just shook his head in agreement, letting the silence elope the car again. Soon they were pulling into the mall parking lot, sliding gracefully into a space. They jumped out of the car, and slammed the doors shut; practically sprinting towards the Buy More.
Sarah and Casey ran into the store, scanning the store for any sign of Chuck. Her stomach felt hollow as she search for Chuck was no where in sight.
"I don't see him." She said, worry creeping into his voice.
"Me either, but I see somebody who probably has." Casey stalked forward. "GRIMES!!
Morgan's head shot up from one of the isles, confusion and fear stretched across his face. "Hey John! What's up?"
"Have you seen Chuck?" Sarah asked, hoping for a good answer. Morgan let out a sigh and ran his hand trough his air.
"Yeah I have, he's a little shaken up too. But I'm sure you've already heard about it."
"Heard about what?"
"You mean you haven't? Geez I thought you would be one of the first people he'd call, being his girlfriend and all..."
"Just tell us what happened Dwarf." Casey growled.
"Ellie was in an accident at the hospital." Sarah and Casey shot a dreadful look at each other. Morgan continued. "Yeah, apparently some ass hole tried to run her over. Luckily one of her co-workers got her out of the way in time."
Sarah let out a breath of relief. "Is Chuck still here?"
"Yeah he's in the back…" They ran off before he could finish. "Yeah, your welcome guys!" He sighed, "People are so ungrateful these days."
"Hampton sure does work fast." Casey said racing with Sarah to the back.
"Apparently. God this is situation's getting out of control. If we don't find Hampton fast..."
"Were going to find Chuck with a bullet in his head." Casey finished her sentence, sending a chill down her spine.
They reached the employee's lounge in record time, finding Chuck sitting at the break table, his head resting on it.
"Chuck?" Sarah asked, walking towards him. When he didn't respond, she thought of the worst. She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, making him yell in surprise.
"WOA!! Oh, hey Sarah, it's just you…"
"Are you okay?" She asked, kneeling down in front of him.
"At this moment in time, yes, but after I tell you what happened I probably won't be." Casey and Sarah looked at him intently. He let out a shaky breath. "Hampton called me, after I found out about Ellie," He waited for the two agents to say something, but when they didn't he unhappily continued. "He found out you guys were government agents by the way. Well any who, Hampton dug up a bunch of dirt on me, and while he was spouting it all off," He hid his face in his hands. "I got pissed off and kind of became a smart ass."
"I don't understand…" Sarah said.
"Well for an example, I called him a dooshbag, made fun of him with no ounce of fear in me, called him a coward, told him I hope he got mauled by a bear, challenged him to come get me now, and hung up on him."
The room had gone awkwardly quiet. He kept his head down, afraid to see Sarah and Casey's face. He wished desperately he could crawl into a hole.
"You told Marcus Hampton…that you hope he gets mauled by a bear?" he heard Casey say, a mixture of rage and disbelief in his voice. Chuck merely nodded his head.
Casey shook his head, and to Chuck's surprise, started to laugh. "Never heard that before, bet that really pissed him off!! Ha! It's about time you grew a back bone!"
"Um…thank you?"
"Casey!!" Sarah yelled at him, clearly not amused one bit. "This is serious! Hampton's not going to rest until he's sees Chuck dead, and you're just standing here laughing at a comment that more than likely send him off the deep end."
"I don't see why you're getting to worked up, its not like Bartowski's going to be here long enough for Hampton to do-"
"CASEY!!" Sarah yelled cutting him off. Chuck looked at the two agents, his brow furrowing.
"Wait. What do you mean I won't be here?"
Sarah looked down at the ground, afraid to meet his eyes. "We were given orders….to bring you back to Washington."
Chuck was silent for a moment, he ultimate fear surfacing. "No…you can't.."
Casey gave him a firm look, though he wished he like Sarah, that there was another alternative. "Listen Chuck, Hampton is just too dangerous for us to ignore. You'll be safer in Washington. He can't get you there."
"I don't care where he can't get me. I'm not living Ellie or Awesome or Morgan or the rest of them! You can tell them to forget it! I'm not running away!"
"Okay, your new found back bone is starting to get on my nerves." Casey said stepping towards him. "Now I'll let you walk out of here with your pride in tact, or I can drag you out of here. Which would you rather do?"
"I'm not sure, I guess with my…..HOLY CRAP WHAT IS THAT!!"
Casey and Sarah both turned towards where Chuck was pointing, and he took that opportunity to run past them as fast as he could.
Casey snapped his head back towards Chuck's fleeting form, cursing himself. "Dammit Bartowski!! I can't believe I fell for that!!" And sprinted after him.
Chuck ran past the registers, risking a look behind him. His heart leaped as he saw Casey not far behind him. CRAP!
He saw Morgan in front of him, and immediately an idea struck.
"Morgan!!" he called skidding beside him.
"Hey dude what's up-
"I need you to do me a huge favor. Now listen…." Chuck whispered something into Morgan's ear, his friend nodding intently.
"Alright bro, you hide. I'll take care of Popeye."
"Who?"
"Casey dude."
"Oh, right. Thanks man."
Casey stopped in his tracks, losing sight of Chuck. He let a growl escape his lips. Having to play hide and seek with the little nerd was definitely not on his to do list. Suddenly he saw Morgan leap onto the Nerd Herd station, the intercom microphone in his hands.
"Ladies in Gentlemen!!" he called throughout the store, grabbing all the customers' attention. "I have some news for you! One of you lucky, beautiful customers will walk out of this store, with all of their merchandise…absolutely free!!!!"
The customers gasped with pleasure to Chuck relief, who was hiding in an empty bottom shelf in one of the isles. He listened for Morgan's cue.
"Yes! Yes! A wonderful treat! But there are rules to this game. You have to convince one of our very own workers that you are worthy of this prize. And who is this man you may ask? Well it's none other than our own…JOHN CASEY!!"
Casey, who was extremely close to finding chuck, stopped in his tracks, anger rising inside him. He turned his head slowly toward Morgan, giving him a glare that could kill.
"Starting now folks!! Have fun!!" Morgan finished, jumping off the counter and running away from Casey. In an instant, the agent was surrounded by unwanted people, being and pleading for his approval.
Chuck, silently thanking Morgan for his sacrifice, because Casey will kill him afterwards, crawled away and ran for the door, ignoring Casey calling his name.
The sun was starting to set as Chuck raced out the doors, running towards his vehicle. As he was grabbing his keys from his pocket, he saw Sarah leaning on the driver's side of his vehicle; giving him a small, though not happy, smile.
He stopped in his tracks, looking a Sarah pleadingly.
"Sarah, please, don't make me go…"
"I'm sorry Chuck," she said her voice void of any emotion, which sent a painful jolt through Chuck's heart. "But orders are orders. We have to protect the intersect at all cost."
"But what about my sister! I can't just leave her alone! And if I just vanish, Hampton will try to draw me out by hurting her!! I can' let that happen!! Please Sarah! I have to protect her."
"Well you should have thought about that before you talked like that to Hampton." Her eyes were dangerous now, stepping toward him. He took an involuntary step back. "I can't believe how stupid you are! Actually challenging him to come and kill you! How could you? Not only did you put yourself in more danger than you possibly could have, but also every one around you! Do you realize that? And yet you deliberately put yourself in those situations! You broke our promise!! How can I protect you if you won't let me?!"
"Do you really want to protect me because you care, or because of the intersect." He asked in such a low voice that Sarah barley heard it.
She stopped in her tracks, absolutely shocked at what he said. She stared into his now dull brown eyes, realizing that he honestly thought that was true.
"You and Casey wouldn't even give a crap about my life, except for this stupid computer in my brain! It's the only reason you're even here! It's also the reason I'm in this mess to begin with. I'm sick of it!! I'm sick of dreading every day, thinking I'm going to be shoved in some cell so that people can only use me to get information! And I don't care what you say; I'm not leaving the only people who truly care about me! So get out of my way!"
"Chuck!" she called after him as he walked pasted her and into the parking lot. "Chuck, listen to me! Chuck!"
"Why should I listen to you?" Chuck whirled at her angrily. "So you can fill me with more lies about us being in a relationship? Being friends? Actually having feelings for me?"
"Chuck…"
"No," he said to the ground more than her, feeling his heart break. He knew what he was saying was true, but that didn't stop it from utterly crushing him. "I don't want your fake concern. You made it perfectly clear that you will never develop feelings for me long ago, and it's time I stop thinking that would change. I just want to go home." He looked up at her, tears forming in his eyes. "I'm not running. I'm not putting the people I love in danger."
"So you're just going to go off and get yourself killed?" Sarah asked in a trembling voice, trying to keep her tears at bay.
"Looks like it." He answered.
"Well that sure makes my job a lot simpler." a voice said from behind them. Chuck jumped backward, tripping on his feet again and falling on his back side. Sarah stepped in front of him, her gun raised.
Hampton walked casually towards them, his hands in his coat pocket. He gave them both his pleasant, dangerous smile.
"Hello Chuck. Surprised to see me so soon? You didn't think I would just sit around and twiddle my thumbs after our little conversation, now did you?"
Chuck shook his head, "You don't look like a thumb twiddler."
"Shut it Chuck." Sarah said, pointing her gun at Hampton's head. "It was a mistake coming here Hampton."
"Really because I think you're wrong my dear. I've come here for the boy, and I'm not leaving here without him."
"Well I'd hate to say you are." Casey said from Hampton's back, his gun also trained on him. Hampton simply shrugged.
"Actually Mr. Bartowski is going to leave with me on his own free will." He said, glaring down at him. Sarah looked down at Chuck, whose face had grown pale.
"How do you figure that?" Casey said, stepping closer to him.
Hampton laughed, "By using the same strategy as I did with my great escape." He pulled out a small remote. "I have the Buy more completely wired. If Chuck refuses to come with me, I'll simply press the button."
"No!" Chuck was standing now, Sarah holding him back. Hampton grinned wickedly.
"It's your choice Chucky-boy. Either come with me quietly, or sacrifice the innocent. You did it last time; I'd be disappointed if you chose it again."
Chuck looked at Casey, then to Sarah, his stomach feeling hollow. His thoughts lingered on all his friends inside; Morgan, Anna, Lester, Jeff, and all of the other innocent people inside. He couldn't just let them die because of him. Chuck closed his eyes, and let out a shaky breath. "Okay."
"Chuck NO!!" Sarah shouted, her heart plummeting into her stomach.
"Bartowski you stay where you are!" Casey growled, fear in his voice.
Chuck stepped away from Sarah, who caught him by the arm; begging. "Chuck, please don't go."
He looked at her, his eyes filled with fear. "I'm sorry Sarah." He said in a whisper. "Please, take care of Ellie…she really likes you…and Morgan too…" his voice started to break.
She looked at Chuck, a tear running down her cheek. "You don't have to do this. I won't let him hurt you! I CAN'T"
He shook his head sadly. "Tell them I love them."
"Mr. Bartowski." Hampton said impatiently. "I do not have all day."
Chuck looked towards Hampton, then back at Sarah. He leaned towards her. "Sarah…" he whispered in a shaking voice. "You have to know…that I never cared about some one as much as I do now. And even though I say the intersect ruined my life, I never mean it…because it brought me you." Sarah looked up at him, tears flowing freely. "Sarah-"
"MR. BARTOWSKI!!"
"I love you." He pulled his arm out of her loose grasp, and walked towards the terrorist; leaving Sarah's heart shattered and soaring at the same time.
Hampton was practically shaking with excitement as Chuck stood in front of him. He grabbed his arm roughly, turning it back into him. He dropped the remote back into his pocket, retrieving a gun in its place. He pressed it under Chuck's chin.
"Now agents," Hampton said victory in his voice. "I'll need you to drop your guns, and you behind me," he was talking to Casey, "step towards the female."
Sarah's let hers fall from her hand, not caring if it went off or not. Her tear filled eyes were still on Chuck; her voice lost. Casey was less willing, but seeing Sarah immobile, set it on the ground, stepping away from Hampton until he was standing next to his partner.
"Now come on Chuck." Hampton said happily, "We'd better get going. I have some fun in stored for you." As he was escorting Chuck away, a thought entered his mind, causing him to stop.
"Oh, that reminds me!" he said twirling back around towards Sarah and Casey. "I forgot to pay you back for your little insults on the phone earlier."
Before Chuck or the others could say anything, Hampton pulled the gun away from Chuck's chin, aimed it at the two, and fired.
Sarah fell backwards.
"NO!!" Chuck screamed as Hampton dragged him away from his worst nightmare ever imaginable. The last thing he saw before they rounded the corner was Casey leaning down towards her unmoving body, his face white as a ghost.
Chuck struggled with all his might against Hampton's strength, elbowing and kicking him when he got the chance. The older man threw him up against his vehicle, slapping him across the face. "Settle down." His voice was cold, his anger resurfacing. "She didn't have to die boy, but your smart little mouth caused me great displeasure. And after such a touching goodbye, I couldn't let it go peacefully now could I?"
Chuck glared back at him, his despair turning into anger. "I'll make you pay for hurting her…I swear it."
Hampton burst into laughter. "Oh no, Chuck, I will be repaying you tonight. And trust me, by the time I'm threw with you, you'll be begging for a swift death like hers."
With out another word, Hampton took the butt of his gun, and hit Chuck with it as hard as he could; sending him into unconsciousness.